Where TCM Meets Miao Medicine
— in Nat Geo's Guizhou
A 14-day clinical and cultural programme in Guiyang, hosted by Guizhou University of TCM (GZUTCM). Bedside teaching across two affiliated hospitals, rare access to Miao ethnic medicine, and a journey through one of National Geographic's "Best of the World" destinations.
National Geographic
"World-record bridges, white-water canyons and vast caves to sacred peaks, ancient towns and ethnic villages — a land where mountains shape both land and people."
— National Geographic, "Best of the World's Destinations: Guizhou"
What You'll Take Home
Real bedside teaching
Five days of small-group clinical sessions across acupuncture, moxibustion, gua sha, cupping, and tuina — taught hands-on by experienced clinicians at GZUTCM's First and Second Affiliated Hospitals.
Miao ethnic medicine
Open access to Miao specialty outpatient clinics — one of China's oldest indigenous medical traditions, almost impossible to encounter outside Guizhou. A genuinely rare offering for international learners.
Tea, mountains, and ancient towns
Tea picking and a traditional Chinese tea ceremony at Kaiyang ecological tea garden, a full day at Zhijin Cave (UNESCO Global Geopark), and a visit to Qingyan Ancient Town. Plus two free days for your own exploring.
A part of China most travellers miss
Mild October weather, fewer crowds than the big tourist cities, and a chance to see karst landscapes, ethnic minority villages, and centuries-old traditions still alive in their original setting.
£550 — All Programme Activities & Accommodation
A single inclusive fee. No tiers, no early-bird games.
Programme Fee
Included
All programme activities & lectures
Clinical observation & small-group teaching
Miao medicine specialty clinics
Cultural excursions (tea garden, Zhijin Cave, Qingyan)
On-campus accommodation (14 nights)
Opening & closing ceremonies
Programme materials
Self-Arranged
International flights
Travel insurance
Visa application fees
All meals
Personal expenses
Free-day activities
Budgeting for meals. Eating in Guiyang is genuinely affordable — three meals a day in canteens and local restaurants typically cost under £20 / €23 per day, often well below. Campus catering is even cheaper, and Guizhou cuisine — sour fish soup, glutinous rice dishes, distinctive Miao flavours — is one of the lesser-known pleasures of the province.
A note on the fee. This programme is made possible by GZUTCM's institutional sponsorship under an international exchange initiative — which is why the inclusive fee is significantly lower than comparable academic programmes in China. The investment GZUTCM has made in this programme reflects their commitment to opening Chinese medicine and Miao ethnic medicine to overseas learners.
14 Days in Guiyang
| Day / Date | Morning | Afternoon |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 Sun 18 Oct |
Arrival Arrival in Guiyang & airport pickup 抵达及机场接机 |
|
| Day 2 Mon 19 Oct |
Opening Opening Ceremony at Huaxi Campus Visit to Guizhou Miao Medicine Museum & University History Museum 开班仪式 · 贵州苗医药博物馆及校史馆参观 |
Lecture History of Guizhou Ethnic Medicine (3 hrs) 贵州民族医药发展史 |
| Day 3 Tue 20 Oct |
Hospital Visit Tour of GZUTCM's Second Affiliated Hospital 贵州中医药大学第二附属医院参观 |
Lecture TCM in Rheumatology & Immunology (3 hrs) 风湿免疫的中医诊疗 |
| Day 4 Wed 21 Oct |
Clinical Teaching Acupuncture & Moxibustion — Clinical Application (full day, 8 hrs) Small-group bedside teaching at the Second Affiliated Hospital 中医针灸的临床运用（二附院·分组带教） |
|
| Day 5 Thu 22 Oct |
Cultural Excursion Kaiyang Ecological Tea Garden. Travel to the gardens, lunch on-site, tea picking with local growers, and a lecture & tasting on traditional Chinese tea culture. 开阳生态茶园 · 采茶 · 中国传统茶文化讲座及品鉴 |
|
| Day 6 Fri 23 Oct |
Clinical Teaching Acupuncture & Moxibustion — Continued (full day, 8 hrs) Second Affiliated Hospital · small-group bedside teaching 中医针灸的临床运用（二附院·分组带教） |
|
| Days 7–8 Sat 24 – Sun 25 Oct |
Free Days Your own Guizhou. Suggestions: Huangguoshu Waterfall, Qianling Park, Jiaxiu Tower, or a day trip into the Miao and Dong villages of southeast Guizhou. Bullet train and bus options run from Guiyang North Station. 学员自行安排 |
|
| Day 9 Mon 26 Oct |
Miao Medicine — Featured Miao Ethnic Medicine Specialty Outpatient Clinics (full day, 8 hrs) First Affiliated Hospital · small-group practical training in Miao diagnostic and treatment methods 苗医药特色门诊实训（一附院·分组带教） |
|
| Day 10 Tue 27 Oct |
Clinical Teaching Gua Sha — Clinical Application (4 hrs) First Affiliated Hospital 中医刮痧的临床运用 |
Clinical Teaching Cupping Therapy — Clinical Application (4 hrs) First Affiliated Hospital 拔罐疗法的临床运用 |
| Day 11 Wed 28 Oct |
Cultural Excursion Zhijin Cave — UNESCO Global Geopark, one of the world's most spectacular karst caves, with vast underground chambers, towering stalagmites, and over a kilometre of accessible passages. 前往织金洞参观 |
|
| Day 12 Thu 29 Oct |
Clinical Teaching Moxibustion — Clinical Application (4 hrs) First Affiliated Hospital 中医灸法的临床运用 |
Clinical Teaching Tuina — Clinical Application (4 hrs) First Affiliated Hospital 推拿的临床运用 |
| Day 13 Fri 30 Oct |
Closing Closing Ceremony at Huaxi Campus 结班仪式 |
Cultural Excursion Qingyan Ancient Town — a 600-year-old military town with Ming-dynasty walls and stone streets 青岩古镇参观 |
| Day 14 Sat 31 Oct |
Departure Return journey · airport transfer provided 返程 |
|
* Schedule reflects current planning. Minor adjustments may occur based on hospital scheduling and clinical availability.
All Covered in the £550
Accommodation
On-campus accommodation at GZUTCM for the full 14-day programme.
Included
Clinical Teaching
Five full days of small-group bedside teaching across both affiliated hospitals.
Included
Miao Medicine Clinics
Access to Miao ethnic medicine specialty outpatient clinics — rarely open to international learners.
Included
Lectures & Cultural Programme
All lectures, museum visits, tea garden, Zhijin Cave, and Qingyan Ancient Town excursions.
Included
Airport Transfers
Pickup on arrival and drop-off on departure between Guiyang airport and your accommodation.
Included
Certificate
Completion certificate issued by Guizhou University of TCM.
Included
Who Can Apply?
Eligibility Criteria
A note on passport eligibility
This programme is offered under GZUTCM's international exchange initiative for overseas TCM learners. The funder's terms therefore limit eligibility to applicants holding non-PRC and non-Hong Kong passports. We hope to develop separate programmes for Chinese and Hong Kong colleagues in the future, and welcome you to contact us so we can keep you informed.
One Last Reason to Come
Guizhou sits in southwest China, where over 92% of the land is hills and mountains, sculpted over millennia into some of the most dramatic karst landscapes in the world. Waterfalls thunder out of limestone cliffs, vast cave systems run beneath the forests, and terraced rice paddies climb hillsides in stair-steps that catch the light.
It's home to 18 ethnic minorities — including the Miao, Dong, Buyi, and Yao peoples — whose villages, music, embroidery, silverwork, and medical traditions have been preserved in a way that's increasingly rare elsewhere in China. UNESCO has recognised multiple sites here for both natural and cultural value.
For travellers from the UK and beyond, Guizhou offers what the well-trodden tourist routes can no longer give: a region where tradition isn't performed for visitors, but lived. Two weeks here is enough to come home with something most travellers to China never bring back.
Guizhou at a Glance
Parallel
A surprising parallel: Guizhou's climate is much closer to the UK and Western Europe than Beijing's
Guizhou has a subtropical humid climate — damp winters and cool, mild summers that rarely become hot. The dampness, the relatively cool annual range, and the persistent humidity will feel familiar to anyone practising in Manchester, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, or Munich. Beijing, by contrast, is a cold-dry continental climate, with bitter winter wind and very low humidity.
Why this matters for your practice: Traditional Chinese medicine has always been shaped by local climate — the pattern presentations physicians see, the treatment principles they reach for, the formulae they favour. Damp-related and damp-cold presentations are a defining feature of Guizhou clinical practice. These are the same patterns you will encounter most often once you are back treating patients in Western Europe.
In short — what you observe in Guiyang's clinics is more directly transferable to UK and European clinical settings than what you'd see in a Beijing winter ward.
Apply for the 2026 Guizhou Programme
14 days · 2 teaching hospitals · Miao ethnic medicine · Nat Geo Guizhou · £550 all-in
Questions, or applied to our earlier Beijing programme?